General Information

You must hire a funeral home for every death. It is perfectly legal in 40 states to care for the body privately, as a family, without hiring a funeral home, however New York is one of 10 states that requires hiring a funeral home or cremation service regardless of the family's plans for the disposition of the deceased. In 40 states families can choose to do some or all of the process. A family may want to wash and dress the body and keep it at home for several days as part of a private vigil, only calling the funeral home or crematory when they are ready to let the body go. In 40 states, families are allowed to take on the entire process, including the filling out and filing of death certificates and burial permits in addition to the care and transportation of the body. Read more...

In the case of an unexpected death when a family is grappling with the reality of what has happened, there is a strong need to see the body of the person who died and to hold or touch the person. In most of these situations, the body will have been taken to a hospital for rescue efforts or to determine the cause of death. Read more...